Number 10
by Razzella
Summary: It can be assumed that anything The Outsider himself could not explain would be interesting enough for him to give it a go. Annabelle Rhodes would be one of those things. If you tilt your head sideways and squint there may be some Annabelle/Outsider. Ahaha


*SPOILERS WITHIN*

If this game was not left so painfully _open _I wouldn't have taken off with this idea. But, it was. So here is the slowly developing story I have concocted. It takes place in the High Chaos ending in which Emily dies; beginning in sync with "The Light at the End". Be aware I'm not claiming anything as cannon within this story, and there are probably some things that blur together and will go unanswered - but they are meant to be that way. I would rather not give false information if I can get around it, you see; I doubt anyone would appreciate it if I didn't try to.

Ahem - enjoy this half-formed story. Which will be continued, though probably equally as slowly as the rest of mine.

- Razz

* * *

It was unexpected that Annabelle Rhodes would find herself wandering an empty, cluttered plain - her icy gaze examining everything with a less-than-brave docility. She licked her lips as she hopped, trembling, from rock to rock. The floating surroundings made her uneasy, but the worst of it would have to be the infuriating noise in the background. It sounded so sweet, but eerie as well. Almost like the noises whales make when they're calling to their mate, at least, it was close to such in her faint memory of such things - her eyes darted around for any of said creatures floating around, but she saw none.

"Well.. this is curious." As she was busy searching for the source of the sound, a whirl of black mass brought forth a younger man from its eerie grasp. A sharp intake of air was the only sign of surprise she allowed herself as she backed up slightly.

"And how did you find your way here?"

"I don't know."

His head cocked to one side, black eyes shimmering faintly as he examined her. He looked closer to her own age, but something about him made him appear very... old. Annabelle bit her lip, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. Something wasn't quite right about him - of course, in dreams it's hard to distinguish things out of the ordinary.

"Strange," He spoke softly, eyebrows knitting together slightly as he spoke. "... wake up."

* * *

Annabelle shot up, gasping for air as she thrashed the sheets out from around her tiny form. Her red hair was sticking to her neck an face, having fallen from their usual curls into weak waves as her blue eyes darted around the room. The heat of the night had her sweating as she moved from her bed, walking out to her balcony. Her home was an abandoned building on the outskirts of a once great empire. She lived almost completely alone here, excluding her cat Shyla - who was currently lounging on her bed of crumpled paper in the corner. The white cat was good for keeping rats away, though not many came near this particular part of town anymore.

She looked out towards the sea, then eyed her boat docked just off the shore. The dark waves splashed against it ominously as the girl took a seat just below the railing, dangling her legs out past the protective bars. The wailing of sirens in the distance made her frown as she stood, stretching like a cat to grab hold of the low roof and lift herself on top of it. She moved quickly along the unstable rooftop, looking past the darkened houses to the spotlights shining on the streets. Guards were walking along them, Tallboys shooting back stray weepers that made their way towards the wall of light.

When she made it back to her bedroom, she moved a dresser against the door and sighed. It was always hard to see your friends turn into bloody, rotting monsters. They would take you down with them, given the opportunity. It was always best to keep the abandoned house shut up - but especially her room. It wouldn't be the first time someone came wandering in with the plague.

Annabelle crawled back into bed with a sigh, praying she could get some sleep.

* * *

A loan moan woke her this time, and the young girl frowned. It sounded too close for comfort. She was grateful she had locked the door before she pushed the dresser in front of it. Silently, she moved out of bed and looked towards her balcony. The sun was rising now - her inner alarm clock working in sync with the groaning bastards outside her door. She sighed as she began getting dressed for the day, only pausing when a creak came from behind her. She turned, painfully slowly and scowled at the cat as her heartbeat slowed to normal pace.

"Thanks, Shyla." Annabelle grumbled, tugging on her overcoat with a huff and putting her weaponry into place. She glanced in the mirror as she pulled her hair into a bun, examining her features curiously. Annabelle was exceptionally beautiful - long, curly auburn locks with vibrant sky-blue eyes. She was a bit pale, but that was from her recent lack of sunlight; her lips were seemingly in an eternal pout, with a small mole just below her right eye. She gave herself a smile as she tugged her coat into place and straightened herself out. Indeed, she was a beautiful girl - to everyone but herself.

Her cat dutifully followed after her to the balcony, mewing softly to the young woman in reminder. "Ah!" The girl hummed softly as she walked to the creatures bowl. Filling one with water and the other with last nights left-overs, she patted the cats head softly before taking off to the rooftops. There was really no purpose in her taking off right now, seeing as she had no special things to do today besides steal some more food from the only open grocery mart on this side of town, which could definitely wait until later today. Or maybe clear out the weepers from her home, she supposed. She shuddered at the idea, however - killing the poor, diseased people made her very.. uncomfortable, to say the least.

As she prepared to leap roofs, everything froze.

* * *

Annabelle paused in her leap to the next building, looking around in mild panic as the world began to shift and break apart. She stumbled as the ground she was standing on shook and cracked, crouching to keep herself steady.

"Ah, my apologies for sending you away before." The low hum in the background immediately brought her back to her dream as the swirling mass released the man she had seen before once again. This time, her mind registered that where there should have been eyes, were black pits. Actually, no, it appeared as if he truly did have eyes - they were just.. black in shade. Her lips drew into a thin line as she eyed him cautiously.

"Annabelle Rhodes, the daughter of a pair of weepers - once great philosopher and painters reduced to weeping in the streets while their daughter hides in the buildings closest to the sea. Thats where you always wanted to be anyway, correct?" Her skin crawled.

".. yes, thats right." She said slowly, backing up a bit defensively.

"No need to run, I will not harm you." As if reading her mind, he spoke in that same.. soothing voice. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"What do you want from me?" Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper. Her parents had told her stories of a man who took people into his realm during the night - damning their immortal souls with promises of power and watching as they tore the world apart.

"I just want to know how it is you found your way here without me calling to you."

"I already told you I don't know."

"And - being an all-knowing deity - I find neither of us knowing how you got here is unacceptable." His voice was matter-of-fact, sounding almost accusatory, however as his eyes narrowed a bit. He sounded personally hurt by her sudden appearance - as if she had planned to frustrate him of her own accord.

Annabelle sighed. "I don't even know where here is." She admitted after a moment, looking at him with almost pleading eyes.

"Really? Curious.." He trailed off thoughtfully before offering something of a smile - just a tiny twitch upward in the corner of his lips. "You're in the void - my home. I am the Outsider; you seem very.. interesting." A shudder passed through her at that name. She had seen it scrawled in blood, watched as Overseers ripped families apart at his mention, and heard stories of the assassins Daud and Corvo possessing his power. She had never dreamed of meeting the man causing all the chaos - much less having any desire to.

".. The Outsider?" She murmured, not particularly in question just as.. well, she wasn't quite certain what drove her to say his name. But as it passed her lips something strange came over her, a dizzying feeling almost. She was sure she was about to faint as she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself and block out the spinning that was sure to follow.

"Yes.. I would like to give you a gift, Annabelle. If I may, of course." His hand extended invitingly as she opened her eyes, head cocking to one side slightly. She knew that it was not so much an invitation as an order. She would receive his gift - whether she really wanted it or not; it was probably best to simply play into it rather than try to fight it.

A smaller hand rested itself in his and she winced as a burning ache passed through it. She saw a strange symbol appear and bit her lip, eyeing it with something similar to fear radiating off her tiny form. But as quickly as it appeared, the symbol faded into her skin - leaving nothing of the black mark behind.

"What?" His voice was a hushed confusion - almost irritation seeping into it as he gripped her hand tightly, black eyes meeting hers searchingly.

"How?" The Outsider demanded, his voice slipping back into his soothing tone once more, though with a clearly great effort driving it there.

"How.. what?" Annabelles voice was almost a whimper as his grip tightened momentarily before he released it.

"This is very intriguing." He murmured to her after a moment of examining her. "I'll be sure to keep in contact, Annabelle."

And suddenly the world was back to normal.


End file.
